Blogs from Peru, South America - page 1146

Machu Picchu....Ahhhh, what majestic beauty surrounded by such disgusting greed and exploitation. Being a lover of ancient ruins, I was excited about the prospect of visiting this amazing location. Little did I know, I would have to weed through the jungle of lies and deceit and, seemingly bribe, my way to the peak. Bribe may not be the best word for it- I felt more like robbed or raped of not only my money but my spirit as well. It began in Cuzco. Elisa and I had been travelling with a Lonely Planet guide book while it hasn't been completely accurate with its recommendations; it has been a valuable tool during our stay here in Peru. Armed with information about the train tickets from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes, I entered the train station confident. I was ... read more

I did the Classic Inca Trail, 4 days 3 nights with a Peruvian company called Q´ente. The trek starts at Kilometre 82 we then walk the 36Km to Macchu Picchu (the full Inca Trail actually starts in Cusco). Day 1 Early start and I get to meet the other people in the group, Katharine and Laura both Brits. So in total we 3 Trekkers, 1 Guide (Himay), 1 Chef and 8 Porters!! Yes we do feel like we’re lording it a little with all those Porters. The bus drops us at Piskacucho, Km82 and we start the trek in picturesque green Andean valleys. We arrived at a camp site for lunch to find bowls & towels to spruce up with and a three course meal ready in the dining tent. Fantastic. The afternoon walking was a ... read more

Last week we went to Saposoa, a much more friendly community. We exposed our usual Museo de la Salud, (literally means hygiene museum). This time Eliseo, a new comer in the project, added a part on agriculture, where he explained what fruits to grow and how. Our Spanish is improving rapidly and we’ve also learned a few words in Shipibo. The main event of the trip was another nocturnal tropical storm. This time we were better prepared since we had tents. I had borrowed one from ADRA but Pierre had insisted on taking his own. Unfortunately it could not be mounted indoors so when the storm broke out at 1.00 AM, I had a thought for him from my warm under-shelter bed, although I spent most of the night tackling a new form of "invisible-mosquitoes". At ... read more

Hello everyone, After a really nice, relaxing weekend it was back to work at the orphanage. Seems strange that I don´t get the Monday morning blues here to the same extent that I do at home - in fact, except for that "oh no it´s time to get out of bed" feeling I don´t get them at all!! It was a great start to the day. Everyone was up on time and ready for the transport to our workplaces. No one was late and we weren´t held up at all!! We arrived at the orphanage probably the earliest we have been there in the last two weeks!! Most of the kids were still in bed asleep!! The laides there had made a start on washing and changing the kids who were slowly beginning to surface!! We ... read more

Hi Folks, Hope that you´re all enjoying the weekend!! In yesterday´s diary I mentioned some sort of ´incident´ last night. Not sure of all the details, but it must have been significant, because this morning, there was a message from the teenagers on the notice board in the dining room. Wasn´t signed, and not sure who wrote it, but it was a message of apology. Have taken a photo of it. All I can say is included in the comment witht the photo!! Vicki and Wendy felt much the same!! The majority of the teenagers have now either left permanently, or are away all next week on a trip. There will only be eight of us in the house next week, all like minded and relatively sane. I´m really looking forward to a week of peace ... read more